Senator Aécio Neves May Become a Defendant in New Trial

04/11/2018 - 10h32

The Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) will decide next Tuesday (17) whether to accept the accusation from the Prosecutor General's Office against senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG).

The senator was accused of passive corruption and obstruction of justice in June 2017, in an investigation related to JBS' plea bargain.

If the justices of the First Panel receive the charges, Aécio will become a defendant in the Supreme Court. The charge filed by former prosecutor general, Rodrigo Janot, was the first related to JBS' scandal. Marco Aurélio is the reporting judge, who asked the proceeding to be included in the court's docket.

Charges have also been brought against Andréa Neves, sister of the senator, Frederico Pacheco, his cousin, and Mendherson Souza Lima, advisor of senator Zezé Perrella (MDB-MG), Aécio's ally. They had been preventively arrested in May 2017, but the STF ordered their released the following month.

Aécio was caught on tape, in a recording authorized by court, asking Joesley Batista for R$ 2 million (US$ 587,000). Mr. Batista is one of the owners of the meat processing company JBS who had signed a plea bargain with the Prosecutor General's Office (PGR). The money was then delivered to Aécio's cousin, in an action filmed by the Federal Police.

	Mateus Bonomi/Folhapress
	Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG)

THE OTHER SIDE

Aécio Neves' lawyer, Alberto Zacharias Toron, issued a note stating Mr. Neves fell victim to a staged situation, which included former prosecutor Marcello Miller - suspected of having acted in favor of JBS while he was still a member of the Federal Prosecution Office.

Translated by ANA BEATRIZ DEMARIA

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